1973 Daytona 500

1973 Daytona 500
Race details[1]
Race 2 of 28 in the 1973 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
1973 Daytona 500 program cover
1973 Daytona 500 program cover
Date February 18, 1973 (1973-02-18)
Location Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
Course Permanent racing facility
2.5 mi (4.023 km)
Distance 200 laps, 500 mi (804.672 km)
Weather Cold with temperatures of 54.9 °F (12.7 °C); wind speeds of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
Average speed 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h)
Attendance 103,000[2]
Pole position
Driver
K&K Insurance Racing
Qualifying race winners
Duel 1 Winner Buddy Baker Nord Krauskopf
Duel 2 Winner Coo Coo Marlin H.B. Cunningham
Most laps led
Driver Buddy Baker K&K Insurance Racing
Laps 156
Winner
No. 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises
Television in the United States
Network ABC's Wide World of Sports
Announcers Jim McKay
Jackie Stewart
Chris Economaki

The 1973 Daytona 500, the 15th running of the event, was won by Richard Petty on February 18, 1973, at Daytona International Raceway in Daytona Beach, Florida.[2]

Four cautions slowed the race for 28 laps.[2] A crowd of over one hundred thousand came to see a field of 38 American and two Canadians (Earl Ross and Vic Parsons).[2] The average speed for the race was 157.205 miles per hour (252.997 km/h) while Buddy Baker achieved the pole position with a speed of 185.662 miles per hour (298.794 km/h).[2] Bobby Isaac would finish second to Richard Petty by more than two laps.[2]

Both Hollar and Jett participated in qualifying and were supposed to start in the 125s (Hollar was supposed to start 38th in race 1 and Jett was supposed to start 26th in race 2), but for whatever reason neither driver ended up participating.[2]

Background

Daytona International Speedway, the track where the race will be held.

Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, that is one of six superspeedways to hold NASCAR races, the others being Michigan International Speedway, Auto Club Speedway, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway.[3] The standard track at Daytona is a four-turn superspeedway that is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long. The track also features two other layouts that utilize portions of the primary high speed tri-oval, such as a 3.56-mile (5.73 km) sports car course and a 2.95-mile (4.75 km) motorcycle course.[4] The track's 180-acre (73 ha) infield includes the 29-acre (12 ha) Lake Lloyd, which has hosted powerboat racing. The speedway is owned and operated by International Speedway Corporation.

The track was built by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. to host racing that was being held at the former Daytona Beach Road Course and opened with the first Daytona 500 in 1959.[5] The speedway has been renovated three times, with the infield renovated in 2004,[6] and the track repaved in 1978 and 2010.[7]

The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar.[8] It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in in-track attendance and international viewing. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[9]

Race results

Pos Grid No. Driver Entrant Manufacturer Laps Winnings Laps led Time/Status
1 7 43 Richard Petty Petty Enterprises 1973 Dodge 200 $36,100 17 3:10:50
2 10 15 Bobby Isaac Bud Moore Engineering 1973 Ford 198 $17,300 1 +2 Laps
3 9 6 Dick Brooks Cotton Owens 1973 Dodge 197 $9,800 0 +3 Laps
4 8 50 A. J. Foyt A. J. Foyt Enterprises 1973 Chevrolet 196 $7,020 0 +4 Laps
5 6 04 Hershel McGriff Beryl Jackson 1972 Plymouth 195 $6,025 0 +5 Laps
6 1 71 Buddy Baker Nord Krauskopf 1972 Dodge 194 $14,725 156 Engine
7 12 48 James Hylton James Hylton 1971 Mercury 194 $4,525 0 +6 Laps
8 16 90 Ramo Stott Donlavey Racing 1971 Mercury 193 $4,095 0 +7 Laps
9 36 67 Buddy Arrington Buddy Arrington 1972 Dodge 192 $2,900 0 +8 Laps
10 27 45 Vic Parsons Bill Seifert 1971 Mercury 190 $2,945 0 +10 Laps
11 24 05 David Sisco Charlie McGee 1972 Chevrolet 190 $2,750 0 +10 Laps
12 11 95 Darrell Waltrip Darrell Waltrip 1971 Mercury 188 $2,625 0 +12 Laps
13 14 18 Joe Frasson Joe Frasson 1973 Dodge 188 $2,275 0 +12 Laps
14 17 92 Larry Smith Harley Smith 1971 Mercury 187 $2,200 0 +13 Laps
15 32 25 Jabe Thomas Don Robertson 1973 Dodge 187 $2,470 0 +13 Laps
16 34 79 Frank Warren Frank Warren 1973 Dodge 182 $2,435 0 +18 Laps
17 28 8 Ed Negre Ed Negre 1971 Mercury 182 $2,445 0 +18 Laps
18 15 96 Ray Elder Fred Elder 1972 Dodge 180 $1,985 0 Engine
19 26 30 Walter Ballard Vic Ballard 1972 Chevrolet 174 $2,415 0 Clutch
20 39 88 Ron Keselowski Roger Lubinski 1972 Dodge 168 $1,500 0 +32 Laps
21 31 24 Cecil Gordon Cecil Gordon 1972 Chevrolet 155 $2,175 0 +45 Laps
22 3 11 Cale Yarborough Richard Howard 1973 Chevrolet 154 $4,250 25 Engine
23 21 60 Maynard Troyer Joe Nagle 1973 Ford 150 $1,825 0 Engine
24 25 49 John Utsman G. C. Spencer 1972 Dodge 145 $1,780 0 Engine
25 29 12 Bobby Allison Bobby Allison Motorsports 1973 Chevrolet 141 $3,735 0 Engine
26 22 70 J. D. McDuffie McDuffie Racing 1971 Chevrolet 129 $2,260 0 Engine
27 33 2 Dave Marcis Penske Racing 1973 Matador 125 $1,325 0 Rear end
28 18 31 Jim Vandiver O. L. Nixon 1972 Dodge 123 $1,300 0 Overheating
29 4 14 Coo Coo Marlin H. B. Cunningham 1972 Chevrolet 118 $2,775 0 Engine
30 13 72 Benny Parsons L. G. DeWitt 1972 Chevrolet 101 $2,195 0 Engine
31 40 4 John Sears J. Marvin Mills 1973 Dodge 65 $2,060 0 Steering
32 23 97 Red Farmer Willie Humphries 1972 Ford 65 $1,665 0 Transmission
33 20 21 David Pearson Wood Brothers Racing 1971 Mercury 63 $2,200 1 Engine
34 37 42 Marty Robbins Marty Robbins 1972 Dodge 63 $1,515 0 Crash
35 35 17 Bill Dennis H. J. Brooking 1972 Chevrolet 62 $1,225 0 Engine
36 19 55 Tiny Lund Carl Price 1972 Chevrolet 54 $1,510 0 Rear end
37 38 06 Neil Castles Neil Castles 1972 Dodge 38 $1,430 0 Engine
38 5 28 Gordon Johncock Hoss Ellington 1972 Chevrolet 35 $1,800 0 Oil leak
39 30 52 Earl Ross Allan Brooke 1973 Chevrolet 34 $1,385 0 Engine
40 2 9 Pete Hamilton Jack Housby 1972 Plymouth 33 $2,000 0 Engine
Source:[10]

References

  1. ^ "Weather of the 1973 Daytona 500". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved June 23, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "1973 Daytona 500". racing-reference.info. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  3. ^ "Race Tracks". NASCAR. Turner Sports. Archived from the original on June 28, 2011. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  4. ^ "Track facts". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona International Speedway. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. ^ "The History of ISC". InternationalSpeedwayCorporation.com. International Speedway Corporation. June 14, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  6. ^ "Daytona Announces Facility Renovation Plans, No Track Alterations". Roadracing World. Lake Elsinore, California: Roadracing World Publishing, Inc. March 24, 2004. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  7. ^ "Daytona International Speedway set to repave following the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola". DaytonaInternationalSpeedway.com. Daytona Beach, Florida: Daytona International Speedway. April 24, 2010. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  8. ^ What Makes Daytona Special. Daytona International Speedway. May 10, 2012. 2:51 minutes in. YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021.
  9. ^ "World's most watched TV sports events: 2006 Rank & Trends report". Initiative. January 19, 2007. Archived from the original on February 8, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  10. ^ 1973 Daytona 500
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